


The Moments Before

by Smushed



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: Angst, Bilingual, Denial of Feelings, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Massage, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 16:39:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16329707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smushed/pseuds/Smushed
Summary: Not all relationships start suddenly.For Rick and Morty, it was a snowball of many moments, gaining momentum and rolling into unavoidable desperation.





	The Moments Before

**Author's Note:**

> This is instead of kinktober for me, I wanted to write something but my kinks turn out to be fluffy slow burn. So take the moments of Rick and Morty in utter denial before they cave in to their desires.
> 
> The massage scene at the end is inspired by rammegaseed's comic on tumblr of Morty giving Rick a massage. 
> 
> Slight TW for some gore in here, not towards our main protagonists but an alien.

Rick was toying with a translucent chunk of purple rock on his work bench. It looked heavy and inside there was a glowing maze-like pattern that shone violet light through the shiny surface of it. He had his lab coat carefully folded beside where he worked, but his teal jumper lay in a puddle on the garage floor from where it had been thrown aside. Rick was working away in his white undershirt, the vest showing his triceps twitching in unison with his trapezius muscles, every now and then his shoulder blade would protrude beneath the white material as he was maneuvering deeper into the mineral he was dissecting.

 

Rick stopped and Morty ducked as much of himself behind the door of the garage as he could, shrinking himself behind the wood. The scientist turned his head to the side and had a sheen of sweat across his brow, it glistened from the lamp that was above him, from below, a violet highlight from the rock casted against Rick’s sharp features. Morty swallowed as he watched Rick wipe his forearm across his head before grabbing his flask. The furrowed brow of Rick’s side profile struck something inside the teen, especially with the way the older throat bobbed up and down with each gulp of his liquor.

 

Rick sighed and faced back to his project, continuing to tinker, and Morty noticed then that the sheen of sweat also varnished the older man’s back. Morty watched a singular droplet dart down his grandpa's spine. 

 

“ _Mo-OUUGH-Morty-_ will y-you stop staring at me already and go to bed or something? It’s late.” Rick’s voice shot through Morty’s daze, and the teen was vibrating with nerves. He had no idea how long he had been watching him for, let alone how long Rick had acknowledged that he had been watching. The teen swept back up to his room without a word.

 

***

 

Morty was planking in his bedroom, the volume of the music was blaring in Morty’s ears, it was only indicated to an outsider’s perspective by a tinny shushing sound. He had just finished four sets of his own home-made circuit training that consisted of 30 sit ups, 20 crunches, 40 lunges, 20 press ups and now finally, one long plank. The teen had started this after he realised his baseline fitness was pretty decent from all the running around he did with Rick, and hell, if he could attempt getting a six pack out of it (or even just a little muscle tone on top of his bones) he would be happy.

 

Rick had barged in ready to drag Morty to the ship on an errand when he had caught him at the start of the plank. Morty hadn’t heard him jostle through the door with his obnoxious belch and Rick, having reasonably justified to himself that he did try and let himself be known to the boy, decided to take a quiet moment to watch him as Morty had done to him those few weeks ago.

 

The teen was propped perfectly horizontally on his forearms and the tips of his toes, Rick devilishly took in the view of the brunet, topless, in just shorts and shining with perspiration. Morty was squeezing his eyes shut in concentration, sweat had dripped from his nose and Rick was impressed at the trembling muscles he had already built up. He wondered how long the little shit had been working out for, cause he was already looking lean, and Rick twitched his nose at the realisation.

 

Morty collapsed from his plank and rolled onto his back, panting with an expression that scrunched his face in pain and Rick found he almost recoiled from how much his stomach flipped at the sight of him, on his back, sweating and outright _spent._

 

“MORTY!” Rick yelled, nudging the him with his foot.

 

“ _Christ,_  Rick!” Morty jumped out of his skin, eyes wide in shock, popping out his earbuds. “Scared t-the shit outta me…” He complained.

 

“-y _fucking shit,_ will you- y-you get some clothes on and hurry up-” Morty watched his grandfather’s white lab coat billow behind him dramatically at the speed of his retreat.

 

***

 

Rick never drank from a tumbler, ever. His old hand held the glass firmly, elbow resting on the arm of the sofa and Morty admired the expanse of Rick’s fingers as they spidered over the opening of the glass. Rick rearranged his grip and wrapped his hand around an impressive circumference of the glass. Morty pondered at how hands could have character, because Rick’s held all of his wisdom and elegance, yet, they were still rough around the edges, worn, and _experienced._

 

The older man lifted the thin rimmed lip of the glass to his mouth and pressed the condensation against his lower lip for a moment, Morty could hear the gentle clink of ice in the glass. Why was that so loud? He could hear it over the noise of the TV. Watching Rick completely at ease with no expectations and _relaxed_ was enthralling. Morty was trying his damnedest to divert his attention to _T_ _he Adventures of Stealy,_  he thought he must have looked so shifty watching Rick from the side but he just couldn’t help it.

 

The late night peace where the whole Smith household lay asleep held a few golden moments of domestic bliss for Rick and Morty. The two could watch TV, unperturbed by arguments or general banal troubles that the family had, it was a simple pleasure the two snatched it whenever they could. To watch TV on the couch together.

 

He still hadn’t pulled from the glass, just sat with the cool edge against his lower lip and Morty realised he was smelling the whiskey. Rick stayed in that position but his eyes moved to Morty, who bolstered at the acknowledgement.

 

“Y-you wanna try this, Morty? I save it for special occasions, this isn’t some shitty borderline turpentine whiskey, this is the good stuff, it- it cost me a pretty penny, but I can tell you, it was worth every one.” Rick held the glass out to his grandkid, who relaxed when he wasn't sniped at for staring again. The younger hand took the glass delicately from Rick’s long fingers and shivered at the warmth of them compared to the cold tumbler.

 

“Y-you gotta smell it, nice and long, take a little sip, just a tiny bit, swill it around your mouth for a while and then when you swallow that, take another inhale with a sip and that second one-” Rick smirked as though recalling a fond memory. “Oh, baby, that second sip is where it’s _at!”_

 

“What- uh… What’s the occasion, Rick?” Morty asked, taking a sniff and embracing the harsh sting of the liquor before taking the smallest sip. As he held the burning on his sensitive tongue his eyes squinted, while the young face was expressive in his first taste of proper whiskey, Rick’s face was sombre while quietly looking at the TV with something Morty struggled to recognise behind his eyes.

 

Morty had swallowed his first tip and felt the fire sweep down his gullet, but was determined to finish Rick’s instructions and took another sip while simultaneously inhaling the scent. Rick looked back at his grandkid and smiled, the pool of warmth in Morty’s belly was indeterminable as to whether it was caused by the gorgeous look behind Rick’s face or the whiskey settling in his stomach. Morty’s eyes widened in surprise, this second mouthful had notes of sweetness he didn’t know existed in whiskey, he could taste the oak barrel and spicy vanilla. His brows raised up high, creasing his young forehead as he enjoyed, for the first time, the taste of alcohol.

 

“It’s been…” Rick halted his speech for a moment and took the glass back from Morty, their fingers half intertwined for a second before he pulled his hand away. Rick decided to lie a little. “Can you believe it, it’s been three whole years since I’ve been back… Three years since I lived here?” He grinned and removed the glass and his hand away from the teen’s.

 

Rick took another sip, closing his eyes and savouring the taste.

 

It was only a white lie and a half truth.

 

He was actually celebrating three years since Rick and Morty had their first adventure.

 

***

 

“Run, Morty!” Rick had swooped up his satchel and had a head start. Morty was screaming as he ran, his shorter legs having to move twice as fast to keep up with the longer strides of his grandfather. The thrill of the chase had driven Morty to complete agitation, Rick had purposely pissed off the leader of the Dorvolians, they had made the deal and it was perfectly amicable until Rick had insulted their queen.

 

 _“So, who's the bug? Man, I've seen prettier cockroaches- I-if a roach was squashed and survived then got smeared with crap, I-I’m pretty sure_ that _is what it would look like.”_

 

It aggravated Morty when Rick was in one of those moods. Some days, the scientist had patience to respect other planetary cultures, other days, the blue haired maniac just wanted himself a big heap of trouble.

 

It was doubtful that they could escape easily this time, the route was intricate and of course the Dorvolians had the advantage of being on their native land. They were submerged by this planets version of woodland, black trees and silver leaves, Morty’s scream transformed into a yell as he heard them being approached from the sides.

 

His vision snapped onto something from the corner of his eye, he reached and grabbed Rick’s collar, yanking him backwards and letting them both fall down to the ground, they were immediately shrouded under a leafy cover. Morty had found it earlier in their adventure but had no idea it would be useful to them now, it was a hidden room beneath the forest-like floor, completely barricaded by the foliage. A few seconds later the sounds of the Dorvolians running above them sounded and they both let out a sigh of relief at the same time.

 

As they relaxed, Rick could feel Morty below him, still clinging tightly to his collar, the young chest rising and falling beneath his own. He couldn't move yet, in case more of those pissed off aliens heard them. His hand was on Morty's chest, and if Rick was accused of doing this with intent, he would have denied it. His palm slipped up to let his fingers wrap along the side of Morty's neck, holding him there gently. He felt Morty's fist clench tighter in his coat at the nape of the older man’s neck.

 

Rick felt the swell of pride from Morty's quick thinking, though by the time they got out of the secret forest-floor room, Rick was too busy honing in on his prize from the adventure to thank the teen, ranting about its usefulness for future projects. Morty just rolled his eyes as he fastened his seat belt in the ship.

 

***

 

Morty stayed on his phone in the garage as Rick was working, the scientist had started looking for something. Morty ignored him but looked up at the racket as his grandfather almost knocked over a guitar case.

 

When Rick caught it, he abandoned his previous intentions and took the guitar to where he was sitting. Morty had stopped browsing on his phone and was just using it as a disguise to stop himself from staring (the regularity of his fixation on Rick was annoying even himself at this point).

 

Rick had plugged in a small, but powerful, amp. He placed it on the ground for him to kick his feet up onto. It wasn't too loud that it would disturb the whole house but it was the perfect volume for the two of them. Rick plucked each string, tweaking the tuning for a while before launching into a riff. Morty couldn't believe the sounds Rick was coaxing from the instrument, his fingers smoothly noodling out an impressive melody, and apparently, _that was just his warm up-_ because Rick tsked and started again. _Holy fuck._ Morty couldn't even swallow.

 

Rick’s fingers were licking the strings with ease, muscle memory leading them down the frets in a dance. Morty didn't know the song, all he knew was that it sounded unbelievable, a diverse spectrum of strings being hammered on and bending sounds, which was gravelly and distorted, almost crunchy. Rick let the guitar, which was full of as much character as himself, ring out a clear and concise melody before he slid down into a heavy chord progression and filling the room with deep vibrations.

 

Without realising it, Morty’s phone had gone slack in his grip and he had been staring at Rick's expert long fingers skirting along the steel strings. The hand strumming was so fast he could barely keep up with it, palm muting the deep full bar chords every now and then for a variety of dynamics.

 

The hazel eyes of the young teen flickered up to see if Rick was even having to concentrate on the meticulous speed of his hands or whether this came as naturally to him as science. To his dismay, he found those piercing blue eyes were already watching Morty as he played, eyebrow quirked in amusement.

 

“Why don't you take a picture, Morty?” Rick teased. Morty swore under his breath at the cheekiness of it, that sly little smile and the slick attitude Rick held conjured unnameable feelings within the teen. A vivid image of Rick sporting leather and an audacious choker popping into his mind had Morty mumbling as he left the garage.

 

***

 

“-a-a-and can you believe it? That idiot Gromflomite took it and tried to _best_ me. Best _me,_ Morty! That - but that idiot had it coming when I-” Rick looked to the passenger seat to grin manically at Morty as he explained what he did to the bureaucratic alien.

 

Morty was slouched against his seat belt facing him, the teen he had been listening to the story and had fallen asleep. Rick looked back out towards the vast stretch of space in silence. They were going to be another hour to get home at least. Rick shimmied his shoulders, with a few awkward pulls and twists, he got his lab coat off and lay it gently over the sleepy teen.

 

Morty looked so peaceful with his mouth slightly agape. He stretched out his hand and delicately brushed Morty's hair from his face. Morty stirred slightly, face contorting to a mild discomfort before he gripped the lab coat tighter and pulled it up to his face. Rick was mesmerised as he watched Morty nuzzle into the white fabric and inhale before relaxing into his deep sleep again, a twitch of a smile on his lips.

 

Rick swallowed his heart in his throat and focused on the vast expanse of space ahead.

 

***

 

“Rick! Oh God!” Morty yelled, his mouth and eyes wide with panic as the manic alien roared in his face, it had Morty in a death-grip, holding his whole body in one hand, the teen was stuck in terror as the alien bared it’s gnarled rows of sharp teeth. Morty shrieked as he tried to yank himself away, but it squeezed him tighter, winding him with its tight grip, crushing his diaphragm so he couldn’t yell for help any longer, the teen’s blood ran cold and he braced for death as it opened its jaws wider to devour him.

 

“Get the _fuck_ away from my grandkid, you piece of shit!” Rick screamed and Morty’s view went black as he was covered in warm alien blood. He fell to the ground, gasping for air as the alien’s body made a disgusting array of squelching sounds, Rick punctuating each splash with a roar of anger.

 

He scrubbed at his eyes with the back of his arms trying to bring back his vision, and by the time he did Rick had scooped him up and held him against his chest. Morty blinked a couple of times, and all he could see was Rick’s white lab coat smeared with blood. He felt Rick’s chin on the top of his head and the scientist was rocking them back and forth.

 

“Holy shit, M-Morty- _fuck-_ ” Rick soothed, stroking Morty’s head. “It’s okay, y-y-you’re safe now. It’s fine.” The scientist held him and mumbled for a long while, Morty stayed quiet as the adrenaline and terror oozed from him to be replaced with an empty hole where the fear once was. Rick’s comforting was actually really helping, he let himself be held and eventually his silent tears had stopped as he was peacefully caged by his grandfather’s tall frame that held him like an abstract ribcage.

 

***

 

Rick stretched up as much as he could, which right now, was laughable. He stood at a comically crooked angle. _‘Fuck me, I'm feeling my age,’_ Rick thought as he knuckled the space in the small of his back, groaning as he did.

 

He pushed his luck and had been bent down while he worked on his ship, it was outright careless but convenient, and now, the old man was paying for it. He shuffled out of the garage and to the sofa to try and click out the knot that made a tree of nerves flare angrily up his spine.

 

This started at the beginning of the week over nothing in particular and had progressed each day from a little twitch to outright agony, he was almost crippled with it. Rick's hands clutched the back of the couch as he attempted straightening himself up taller and winced, rubbing his fist into the small of his back again.

He hadn't heard Morty come in, but the old man scowled at him as he approached. The aches that were turning sharper and more sinister in his frail old bones and muscle made him highly irritable.

 

“Jeez, Rick…” Morty had that concerned look in his eyes, it was the look he gave Rick more often than the kid probably realised. “It got worse since Monday?” He asked pointlessly, because obviously, it had. “I- I uh…” Morty licked his lips and Rick could almost see the teen’s brain trying to process what to say next.

 

“Spit it out, Morty.” He snapped, pain making his already translucent patience barely existent.

 

“I-I did a little bit of… Research? Y’know, if you count YouTube as research, into massages… like, massages that relieve back pain? I could… Try and… Ease it, or whatever…” Morty couldn't even look Rick directly in the eye, the lil shit was so embarrassed to even suggest it and yet all he wanted to do was help his grandpa. Morty was braced, almost for a reprimand for being so pathetic, he was visibly tensed and had his eyes scrunched almost closed waiting for the whip of Rick's wit.

 

“Sure, why not?” Rick raised his hand in lieu of a shrug and Morty's eyes widened in surprise. Rick couldn't help but smile a little at the way he almost beamed up at him.

 

The set up was reasonably simple. Morty had decided to use the room under the garage, it had Rick's medical table and had a reasonably neutral atmosphere. He lay a couple of blankets on top of the table to make it soft, this room was pretty underestimated in terms of its usefulness, it was quiet and an unlikely place for them to be interrupted, Morty understood as he was setting up his massage table why Rick used it for Project Phoenix.

 

The teen had even gone out and bought the stuff he needed, which included several essential oils. Out of all of them, Morty decided to use lavender to help with relaxation, and after some reading, ylang-ylang to go with it. Morty had blushed from his chest to his ears when he read its properties, apparently, ylang-ylang increased sexual desire. Luckily for Morty, Rick probably didn't believe in the medical uses for herbs besides marijuana, and if they did work, Rick's abused body from drugs and alcohol probably wouldn't notice a fucking flower turning him on. Regardless, the properties of ylang ylang also enticed relaxation and went well with lavender, so Morty convinced himself to use it anyway.

 

Morty heard his grandpa shuffle in and began to strip off his clothes, he kept his eyes focused on the oil he was mixing. Less is more, the coconut oil only had a couple of drops of the essential oils so it wasn't overpowering.

 

“Candles, Morty? Really?” Rick scoffed, addressing the few tea lights glowing along the edge of the room as he climbed onto the bed, taking his time to turn and lay down on his front.

 

“Hey, they're supposed to help you relax!” Morty snapped back defensively, taking in Rick's completely naked backside on the makeshift massage table before diverting his eyes back to mixing his oil. “Why are you naked, Rick?” He groaned in annoyance, Rick never took him seriously.

 

“You said I needed to relax! Being naked is _regla número uno,_ Morty, you know, into _relaxing?”_

 

Rick's sass eased Morty's nerves and he was gaining the confidence back from all he had learned online. Morty lay a towel over his grandpa's naked ass and coated his hand generously with the beautifully scented oil.

 

After a few minutes Rick's Bible-page thin patience collapsed.

 

“Come on, this isn't a fucking science! Just get on with- _oh.”_ Rick’s anger fell apart and he moaned as Morty's hands gently started from the center of his back and moved up his shoulders and over his neck. How was it possible to be this pleasant almost immediately? Morty was using perfect pressure in a smooth motion, and it was instantaneously relaxing, the teen smiled to himself smugly, it wasn't often he got Rick Sanchez to shut up.

 

The slick oil was cool on Morty's hands, Rick's back was hot in comparison _,_ he pressed his palms in a butterfly shape from the center of Rick's back feeling the bone of the older man's shoulders before dipping back towards his spine to circle downwards. The scent was lovely, a mild floral aroma was seeping out into the room. As he went to Rick's sides he felt the soft padding of the scientist's flanks with his fingertips, Morty was licking his lips in concentration, pressing and smoothing along Rick's waist and back up to Rick's shoulders. Morty felt the tension dilute from his grandpa's body with each move he made, focusing on the neck and trapezius he was fascinated with when they were animated, circling his fingertips around the muscles and tendons there.

 

After a long while of focusing on the scientist's abused back, he directed his attention down to his legs. Rick twitched at Morty's hand on the back of his thigh and the teen hesitated, maybe he should have asked if he needed anywhere else massaging before he went ahead and did it.

 

“If you stop now, Morty, I-I'll never forgive you.” Rick's threat was completely muted by how relaxed he was. Morty chuckled as he continued, mimicking some of the movements of his hands actions from Rick's back and applying it to his thighs, using his thumbs to guide and press the muscles, his fingers wrapping towards Rick's inner thighs. He worked meticulously on each part of visible skin, down to the calves and feet, refreshing the oils on his hands often to leave Rick's skin beautifully soft in its wake.

 

Though this room was cool and clear and the air was fresh, Morty found his whole face was burning hot. He was wondering if his hands were absorbing the ylang-ylang via osmosis because he was almost heated with arousal. It couldn't be that his hands were feeling his grandfather's thighs, that those thighs, parted for him to have easier access to the insides, that kneading the muscles there made Rick groan more obscenely as the moments passed. _It couldn't be._

Morty kept sane by reassuring himself that it was his hormones, being a teenager, it wasn’t Rick, he was imagining it. Morty had moved to Rick's arms and hands, paying as much attention to these as he did the rest of his body. Morty rolled the digits between his fingers and gently pulled them in their sockets before smoothing across the palm with his thumbs and felt a shiver, an actual shiver, run down his spine when Rick panted breathlessly " _Joder_ , _qu_ _é_ _rico…_ ” into the bed.

Eventually Morty had massaged Rick’s entire body, besides his intimate areas. The teen found the rest of the session went simultaneously quick _and_ slow, his lips had gone dry and his whole concentration had become tedious as he tried desperately to redirect his attention from his own arousal.

 

Once he was finished he stepped back, and cleared his throat. Rick’s breathing was steady, almost like he had fallen asleep, until he stirred and turned his head to the side to face his grandson with hooded lids and a sleepy expression. Morty’s brows were knitted as he watched him, smiling nervously. Why was he so fucking nervous?

 

“I can’t move, Morty.” Rick yawned, shuffling beneath the small towel, lifting his ass and wriggling it slightly before lowering back onto the bed. “You used ylang-ylang.” He chucked. 

 

The teen couldn’t remember ever witnessing Rick this way, but he suddenly craved it, before his heart plummeted at Rick’s observation.

 

“Yeah- don’t you- don’t you like it or something?” Morty asked.

 

“Yeah. I do. A little too much, if you know what I mean. Gave me a boner or~ it could be that your massage almost bordered being better than sex, Morty.” Rick smirked, all his attitude had melted away to be replaced with friendly humour, the type that normally had Rick rustling Morty’s hair and taking him for ice cream.

 

“I-I gave you a _what-?_ ” Morty stammered.

 

“If you got one giving me it, I definitely got one receiving it.” Rick hummed. Morty covered his groin even though he had already called him out on it. Rick looked up at the teen through his eyelashes. "Y'gotta let me know how I can return the favour for this, Morty.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! You're welcome to stop by my blog anytime smushed-c137.tumblr.com


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